FILTER Magazine #56

By Gianna Hughes on July 24, 2012

When listening to Passion Pit’s sophomore release, Gossamer, one can’t help but notice how deceptive Michael Angelakos’ songwriting is. Much like Manners, this new collection of songs pairs personal issues with infectious pop melodies and boisterous falsetto hooks. It’s an album as layered as Angelakos himself.

Gossamer is not an album meant to upstage the work that came before, but an album used to explore the concept of forgiveness and Angelakos’ own psyche. “I’m so self-loathing that it’s hard for me to see reality from what I dream,” Angelakos sings in “I’ll Be Alright.” He is constantly exploring the personal isolation he experiences, but ultimately concludes life will work out how it should, for better or worse.

The album’s standout track, “Carried Away,” will likely become a festival hit. And “Constant Conversations” finds Angelakos experimenting with genre more than ever. However, “It’s Not My Fault, I’m Happy” is arguably the pinnacle of Gossamer’s capability. It’s a microcosm of the album as a whole: it’s both cathartically confessional and emotional. “I’m just working with what I’ve been given,” the 25-year-old sings. And this begs the question: aren’t we all?

Gossamer is a haunting album if you listen closely; it is a musical and social contradiction. It is both heart-wrenchingly introspective and jubilant. And when picturing a crowd eagerly singing along, one can’t help but feel a small twinge of irony. It’s an unsettling feeling, as though the anthem of today’s youth is one of self-loathing and self-medication. However erratic Angelakos’ lyrics may be, there is something human and poetic in them. The fact of the matter is, we all feel these emotions—some more intensely than others. And Angelakos can’t and won’t hold back who he is. And neither should we.